轉軚第一步就是自己要轉軚。Michael Jackson 金曲 Man in the Mirror 就是說首先要照鏡，鏡中人要轉軚，"If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make that change." Michael 的版本聽過無數次，請你聽聽 Diana Vickers 的版本，較清新又有美女演出。

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Each year, Time Magazine summed up the news stories of the previous year and selected the top ten stories of the year. Religion is a large item and it has it own set of top ten. If you are interested in the details of these stories, you may wish to read them at Time. Here is a gist. It could shed some more light on the religion delusion.

1. Secularism or BustThe European Court of Human Rights ruled that the crucifix hanging on the walls of many Italian public schools is a violation of religious and educational freedom. In France and Italy, Muslim women wearing religious swimwear were kicked out of public pools. French President Nicolas Sarkozy urged members of Parliament to consider banning burqas in public. Swiss voters approved a measure to prevent the building of mosques with minarets.

Secularism is strong in Europe, with more than two-thirds of survey respondents in countries such as Britain and France considering that religion is not important to them.

2. What Reformation?Five centuries after Henry VIII left the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he was creating a way for disaffected Anglicans to come back. The Vatican would allow Anglicans, including married priests, to practice Catholicism while using much of their own liturgy.

Many critics charged that the move was simply a way to encourage a full-fledged schism within the Anglican Communion's 80 million members worldwide.

Some Catholics expressed concern about the precedent of allowing married Anglican priests in the church while maintaining the requirement of celibacy for Catholic clergy.

3. Keeping the Faith-BasedMany Barack Obama's supporters thought he would not keep the controversial White House faith-based office created by George W. Bush. However, he expanded the office and created the new Presidential Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

Some of the 25 secular and religious leaders who serve on the council have complained that they don't feel heard by the White House.

4. Faith Healing Turns FatalWhen Dale and Leilani Neumann's 11-year-old daughter became severely ill, they prayed. They continued praying as their daughter slowly died. Kara Neumann died at her Wisconsin home of a treatable form of diabetes. Her parents were convicted this year of second-degree reckless homicide, and in October they were both sentenced to six months in jail.

The judge told them, "God probably works through other people -- some of them doctors."

5. Going to the Chapel
The gossip magazine TVnotas published two dozen photos of Father Alberto Cutie engaged in uncelibate behavior with a woman on a beach. The handsome Cutie admitted that the woman was his girlfriend. In response, the Miami Archdiocese removed him from his parish post and barred him from leading Mass. In May, Cutie announced that he was leaving the Catholic Church and becoming an Episcopalian. Two weeks later, the pair married in Coral Gables.

6. Dr. Dobson Has Left the Building James Dobson announced in February that he was stepping down as chair of Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs-based organization he founded in 1977. Chuck Colson is now the only remaining member of the quintet that launched the Religious Right to still hold a position of authority.

Focus on the Family has struggled with budget crises in recent years and has been forced to make severe layoffs to stay afloat.

7. Obama's Notre Dame TouchdownUniversity of Notre Dame invited Barack Obama to address graduates at the commencement. Right-wing Catholics demanded that Notre Dame rescind the invitation and descended on the campus when it did not. The day of the speech was marked by blood-covered baby dolls. Obama responded to the furor with an address about how to deal with disagreement in a democratic society.

Pope Benedict XVI declined to weigh in on the controversy, and three-quarters of American Catholics surveyed thought it was no big deal.

8. Americans Go Church ShoppingMore Americans than ever are leaving church. But those Americans are also going back to church or changing churches if the first few they try don't quite work.

A report found that 44% of adults in the U.S. have changed faiths at least once. Some converted from one religion or denomination to another; others grew up with no tradition only to adopt one as an adult; still others left their childhood faith and found themselves with no religious home.

9. Banning the Baha'i
The government of Iran has held seven leaders of the Baha'i faith in prison for more than a year without formal charges, access to their attorneys or a trial. Baha'i is a monotheistic religion founded in 19th century Persia. She considers that all religions are derivatives of the same god.
The Baha'i tradition is outlawed in Iran, and some government officials have claimed that the prisoners are guilty of spying for Israel or insulting Islam. Several times, the government has scheduled capital-punishment hearings for the seven, only to cancel at the last minute. As of early December, the Baha'i leaders remained in prison with no trial scheduled.

10. Religious Runaway
17-year-old Rifqa Bary ran away from her home near Columbus, Ohio, and bought a bus ticket to Florida so she could live with a Christian pastor whose wife she had met on Facebook. Bary claimed that her parents, Muslim immigrants from Sri Lanka, had threatened to make her the victim of an "honour killing" for recently converting to Christianity. The girl's parents said they had never threatened her and just wanted her to come home. Investigators found no credible threat to the girl.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Two weeks ago, the Court of Appeal dismissed the application of the Diocese for an appeal to the Court of Final Appeal on the case of the School-based Management legal requirements. From the news report below, the Diocese intended to apply directly to the Court of Final Appeal. Each time such news hit the headline, it gives a very bad impression on the Diocese that she is trying to rule her schools by autocracy, which goes against the belief of democracy or simply transparency in school management. I discussed this topic earlier in February in a blog article. The latest development led me to think that the Diocese must be facing a very big problem in the new legal requirement or there is a very serious underlying conspiracy. I therefore read again carefully the detailed judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on the reasons advanced by the Diocese and why the court did not accept them.

The judgment gave a very clear description of the present system and the new system. In essence, it stated the objective and purpose of the Diocesan schools. In paragraph 20, it said "The regime thus established was designed to ensure unity of the Diocese in the promulgation of Catholic values in schools and it is this unity which is said effectively to be undermined by the 2004 legislation." It means these schools are not just for education. They are for the promulgation of Catholic values. For the Diocese, it is perceived that this function cannot be ensured if the 2004 legislation is enforced and the school is governed by an incorporated management committee IMC.

The Diocese brought out seven perceived material changes to the manner in which it was previously able to operate schools. They were categorically refuted by the government. The refutation was endorsed by the court. According to paragraph 43, the perceived changes and the refutation are:

(1) The obligatory submission of constitutions and the incorporation of management bodies
There has always been a statutory power for the government to call for the submission of a written constitution for the management committee. The absolute autonomy suggested by the applicant as previously enjoyed by it is, according to the respondent, an illusion, for the applicant has always been subject to the provisions of legislation and supervision of the government.

(2) The reduction of representation in management bodiesBy reason of its 60% membership majority, the applicant retains effective control over the IMC. The applicant argues for absolute control, an objective that is at odds with greater transparency and accountability, features that are reasonably required for schools that are publicly funded.

(3) Diminution in the scope of the applicant’s functions.
This complaint ignores the requirement upon the IMC to act in accordance with the sponsoring body’s vision and mission; and the 60% sponsoring body representation upon the IMC.

(4) Loss of the guarantee of priority.
This complaint is an exaggeration: the ‘guarantee’ was not a question of priority on all matters of management. The provision did not guarantee that a school management committee would stay true to the vision and mission of the sponsoring body; and the sponsoring body now has a 60% controlling representation on the IMC.

(5) Changes concerning the supervisor.
Since the sponsoring body is responsible for drafting the IMC constitution and since the supervisor must be appointed by the sponsoring body or elected by the managers of the school in accordance with the constitution, it is open to the applicant to draft a constitution accordingly. As for functions, the management committee is under the effective control of the sponsoring body and there is power in the Ordinance to delegate responsibilities to the supervisor.

(6) Changes concerning the principal.
Since the composition of the principal selection committee is determined by the constitution which in turn is drafted by the applicant, the point is without substance.

(7) Changes in the selection of teachers.
The selection of teachers remains under the control of the applicant through its majority control of the IMC and through the requirement that the IMC must act in accordance with the vision and mission set by the applicant.

Notwithstanding the point-by-point rebut, the Diocese is still not satisfied with her own power in controlling schools. It reflects a great sense of insecurity. Is the Catholic value in school governance just castle in the sand? Is it so fragile that a very small minority in the management committee with different views would undermine it? From the perceived material changes, although they might just be fabricated for the case, there will be crises in submitting a constitution, losing absolute control of the management committee, losing guarantee of priority in management, and facing difficulties in appointing supervisor, principal and teachers.

As I see it, all these will not stop the school from preaching. We can only guess, but the Diocese knows best. May be all these will eventually undermine the Catholic value in school. What if the government mandates that religion should not be included in the constitution? What if a father/sister on the committee suddenly finds conscience and joins hand with the other 40%? What if non-Catholic supervisors, principals and teachers are appointed? Could this be the end of a Catholic school? I hope not. 40 years after graduation, I am still connected with my alma mater with many of these changes implemented but still basically Catholic.